ES2002 Business Communication

Letter Writing: Style and Tone

 Style and Tone

• Style – words and sentences a

writer chooses to produce a
desired response in readers
• Tone – the unwritten or unspoken
message; the message “between
the lines”

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 2

 The 4 Ps

• Be polite
• Be positive
• Be personal
• Be professional

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 3

 Be Polite

Write in a style that:

• Reflects appropriate reader-
writer relationship
• Doesn’t convey sense of
superiority/anger/condescension
• Doesn’t embarrass reader

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 4

 Be Polite Reflect appropriate reader-writer relationship
Reflect appropriate reader-
writer relationship
(a) With effect from 14 July, I suggest your
goods be delivered at 7.00 am sharp
instead of the usual 6.30 am. I seek your
cooperation in this respect.

(b) My suggestion is that we deliver your

goods promptly at 7.00 am instead of the
usual 6.30 am. I hope this arrangement is
convenient for you.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 5

 Be Polite Avoid sounding superior, angry, condescending
Avoid sounding superior, angry,
condescending

1(a) Please do not expect us to send you

the forms you requested if you carelessly
omitted the identifying numbers.

(b) If you will send us the form numbers, we

will be glad to send you all the papers you
requested.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 6

 Be Polite Avoid sounding superior, angry, condescending
Avoid sounding superior, angry,
condescending
2 (a) Although money for your grant is
unavailable this semester, we hope you
will reapply next semester.

(b) We are sure you recognise the fact that

we cannot grant everyone’s request for a
grant.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 7

 Be Polite Don’t embarrass reader
Don’t embarrass reader

(a) As you did not respond within ten days, it

should be clear to you that you did not
qualify for the free gift.

(b) You probably did not notice that your order

was mailed after our special gift order had
expired.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 8

 Be Positive

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 9

 Use positive words and phrases
Use positive words
and phrases
(a) There are no more places for the May 15 seminar.
Please be likewise informed that there will be no
similar seminar organised until October.

(b) Due to its popularity, all places for the May 15

Be Positive
seminar have been filled. A similar seminar
will be organised in October and we will be happy
to reserve a place for you, if you like.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 10

 Stress what can be done
Stress what can be done

(a) The problem will be resolved if you

connect the wires according to the

Be Positive
instructions given.

(b) The problem would not have happened if

you had connected the wires properly.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 11

 Which is better?

(1) Please wait for Mr Suppiah to handle your

complaint.

(2) As soon as Mr Suppiah returns, he will

answer your enquiry.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 12

 Be Personal

• Adopt a “you” attitude

• Use personal pronouns
• Avoid pompous language / attitude

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 13

 Definition of “you” attitude

“… a style of writing that looks at things

from the reader’s perspective and expresses
genuine consideration for the reader”

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 14

 Be Personal Adopt a “you” attitude
Adopt a “you” attitude
(a) We are happy to announce that we have
increased the size of our store building. So?

(b) Now you will find a wider choice of

merchandise in the greatly enlarged
building. Oh
great!

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 15

 Be Personal Adopt a “you” attitude
Adopt a “you” attitude
• Instead of • Use
– We call to your – You will be
attention … interested to
– I am sending know …
the enclosed – You will be
check … happy to receive
…

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 16

 Be Personal Use personal pronouns
Use personal pronouns
(a) If there should be any questions
concerning the matter, please call the
number listed on the letterhead above.

(b) We look forward to working with you.

Meantime, if there is anything further that
we can do for you, please let us know.

Important: make sure you have identified the formality of

the situation before you use personal pronouns.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 17

 Be Personal Use personal pronouns
Which is better?
(1) The full payment of the housing loan is
due.

(2) You must pay the full amount of your loan

immediately.

There are instances when the omission of personal

pronouns is appropriate.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 18

 Be Personal Avoid pompous words/phrases
Avoid pompous words/phrases
1(a) I, as a frequent borrower, wish to inform
you that I am pleased with the
improvement in quality of the National
Library over the years.

(b) As a regular user of the National Library, I

would like to express my appreciation for
the improvements made in the last 10
years.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 19

 Be Personal Avoid pompous words/phrases
Avoid pompous words/phrases

2(a) I want to cogitate further on the matter

before giving a definitive answer.

(b) I want to think about the matter a little

more before giving a final answer.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 20

 Be Professional

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 21

 Be Professional

• Generalise experiences; simplify

examples
• Be objective
• Maintain dignity
• Be sincere

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 22

 Generalise experiences; simplify examples
Generalise experiences;
simplify examples
(a) For example, I once waited 40 minutes for a
service 197 bus because two previous buses
passed without stopping.

(b) There was one time where I spent nearly 40

minutes waiting for two buses on Service 197
which drove past without stopping. And then

Be Professional
there was another time when …

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 23

 Be objective
Be objective

Be Professional
(a) On top of that, the bus drivers of such on-coming
buses would arrogantly steer right and bypass
the bus stop.

(b) Furthermore, the bus drivers who tailgate other

buses also tend to bypass the bus stop.

ES2002 Business Communication: Letter Writing: Style and Tone 24

 Maintain dignity
Maintain dignity

Be Professional
(a) As a valued customer, you can rest assured that
we will take every precaution to ensure that you
get the best service in the future.

(b) Since you are a valuable customer, we hope you

will give us another chance to prove that we can
do a good job.

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 Maintain dignity
• Do NOT apologize for a decision
throughout your letter.
• If you have refused a reader’s request,
then explain why
• Do not expose the weaknesses of your
company:

e.g., Please forgive us for not acceding to your

request. The recent inflation has taken toll
on our sales and our company is trying its
best to get on its feet once again.

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 Be sincere
Be sincere

Be Professional
(a) Your phenomenal contribution to our
understanding of tax laws is remarkable.

(b) We would like to thank you for helping us

gain a better understanding of tax laws.

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